Heather Durgin is chief of staff at the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), a division within the Pentagon’s sprawling operation tasked with furthering the US military’s understanding and use of artificial intelligence. The JAIC was established in 2018, and Durgin has been in charge of beefing up the department’s personnel since May 2021, which means scouring the labor market and competing for talent with the foremost names in the tech industry.
Compared with private-sector tech companies, the JAIC is an outlier in the AI space, which, according to Durgin, means recruitment efforts have to be creative to stay competitive. HR Brew spoke to Durgin about her recruitment strategy and why AI might not be a substitute for human connections in the hunt for promising hires.
What is it you do at the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center? I do a little bit of everything. So as the chief of staff, I have a couple of different departments that work for me, that are all centered on the support services for the workforce. So the people who are adding value to the organization that are accomplishing our mission. And so security reports to me, and in security, we’re talking about physical security, background security, information security, and then facilities also reports to me. We’re actually in the process of building out a new facility. And actually, probably later on today, I will file paperwork to expand our current footprint in the building that we’re in. Because, as you know, artificial intelligence is a huge, huge growth area. I also have human capital, which reports to me as well.
Continue reading: https://www.morningbrew.com/hr/stories/2022/03/17/how-the-defense-department-s-ai-center-recruits-top-tech-talent-without-top-salary-offers
Compared with private-sector tech companies, the JAIC is an outlier in the AI space, which, according to Durgin, means recruitment efforts have to be creative to stay competitive. HR Brew spoke to Durgin about her recruitment strategy and why AI might not be a substitute for human connections in the hunt for promising hires.
What is it you do at the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center? I do a little bit of everything. So as the chief of staff, I have a couple of different departments that work for me, that are all centered on the support services for the workforce. So the people who are adding value to the organization that are accomplishing our mission. And so security reports to me, and in security, we’re talking about physical security, background security, information security, and then facilities also reports to me. We’re actually in the process of building out a new facility. And actually, probably later on today, I will file paperwork to expand our current footprint in the building that we’re in. Because, as you know, artificial intelligence is a huge, huge growth area. I also have human capital, which reports to me as well.
Continue reading: https://www.morningbrew.com/hr/stories/2022/03/17/how-the-defense-department-s-ai-center-recruits-top-tech-talent-without-top-salary-offers
